Back to School
by Chrys-DASL
Summary: When Jane is left home alone after Kate starts school, she has a rough time getting through. Will a call from Thora help her? Two-shot. For Slice of Life collab series.
1. Chapter 1

_Back to School_

Jane answered Thora's call like always, but today was different. Summer vacation was over, and now that it was nine in the morning, all three of her kids were away at their respective schools. DW and Kate were at Lakewood Elementary and Arthur was starting his second year of middle school. This left her nest empty, and while it was quiet, she had some concerns.

"Jane, I'm glad you could answer. I didn't know what you'd be doing this morning," Thora smiled.

"Oh? What makes you say that?" Jane asked.

Thora laughed, "I've been there, Jane. You know exactly what I'm talking about. DW called me last night to ask if she'd have to walk the baby to class. I told her she did or I would never make my famous cookies for her again."

"Hmm, that explains why she was so eager to help. I would've gone myself, but I just...I couldn't do it," Jane sighed.

Thora nodded, "It's not easy having kids and letting them go, but we have to. Besides, now she'll have more fun things to tell you about. She'll make new friends and learn new things. Soon she'll have the tears too. That always comes eventually, but you'll get through it. Just enjoy the ride."

"It's hard to do that when it involves leaving your kids with strangers all day."

"I remember. Back in our day we were completely disconnected from our kids. If you worked, you wouldn't see them until after five o'clock most nights, sometimes later. You could just leave them at home alone too, even if you only had one child and they were Kate or DW's age. Just think of how things have changed. Now you can use the school's website to watch the kids in their classrooms if you know the password. I've gotten it for DW and I'll ask Kate for hers tonight when I come over to help with dinner," Thora smiled.

"And I can talk to their teachers whenever using their program online," Jane whispered. She sighed, "It is a lot easier, but I still can't get any work done. I just...I don't even know how I feel."

"You feel like a mom," Thora said firmly, "and it's how you should feel. Have another cup of coffee, unless you're already on Cup 2 or Cup 3, then try to work on something. You told me you had some files to look over for a local company looking for a merger, plus David will need his payroll soon."

"Very true," Jane nodded. "I guess I'll let you go then."

Jane ended her call with Thora and settled in at her desk. The files for the merger were spread everywhere, and nearly every document open on her laptop had to do with them. In a small file box at her feet were David's time sheets for the past two weeks. He would need payroll done within the next three days in order to get checks out in time.

So she settled into her work, not that she wanted to. Any time she stopped she thought of her children, but then she remembered her responsibilities and got back to work. She kept doing this until she heard the familiar sound of a school bus stopping outside.

Kate and DW ran into the house asking for treats. Jane didn't have anything to offer except granola bars, at least until the doorbell rang. Thora had arrived with two plates of cookies and a half gallon of fresh milk. The girls settled in with their grandmother and told her about their day as Jane listened on. Maybe this whole school thing wasn't so bad after all.

~End

Theme 58: Feeling Blue [from my updated Infinite Theme List. See my deviantArt account for the full list]

For the collab series Slice of Life

A/N: Just a little slice of life. I decided to focus on one of the adults for once, but whenever you discuss a parent, the kids leak in. I likely won't do anything else with this, but if you have an idea you'd like to try, just let me know and I'll let you:)

Instant update: There's a part 2 coming from Thora's POV:D I may even do some others with this, but Thora's part will probably be the last. If that changes, I'll let you know in her chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

_Back to School: Part Two_

Thora pushed her cart through the store, humming softly along to an oldie that just happened to come on over the store's speakers. She stopped in front of the baking supplies and shook her head. She peered down the aisle, suddenly too distracted to hum, then she shook her head. How was she supposed to bake something good for her grandkids when there was too much stuff to bake?

The brownies looked too rich. If she was going to bake for someone, she was going to make sure she could eat some of it, sort of a test batch. Plus there was nothing better than a good batter, and brownie batter just didn't suit her tastes.

She walked up the aisle and found herself with the cakes. Chocolate, yellow, and white, all so yummy. Then her eyes fell on the purple cake, a camouflaged batter, and other crazy combinations of colors and swirls. Her eyebrows lifted. How was she supposed to pull something like that off?

Thora shook her head. No, no, this just wouldn't do. She kept walking and found herself at the cookie mixes. Thora smiled. She saw your standard chocolate chip, sugar, snickerdoodle, and other favorites, and less of the crazy combinations from the cake section. She looked through the types and her eyes landed on her two go-tos, chocolate chip and sugar. She smiled and put a pack of each into her cart.

Thora bypassed the icing and went straight to the back wall of the school. Nothing was better than milk for growing girls, and since Arthur would still be in school when the girls got home, she'd have to find something else for him. She grabbed a half-gallon so it'd be easier for her to carry, then she went over to the ice cream aisle.

Thora sighed. Right back where she started with the baked goods. Frozen pies, cakes, and other goodies were at the start of the aisle. She had perfectly good cookies to bake in her cart, plus wouldn't it taste funny if you left it more than a week? Yuck!

She trudged on and found herself at the pints of ice cream for the various brands. Thinking thrifty, Thora picked the store's brand, but she picked one of the more custom flavors. She'd gotten it for Arthur before and he loved it, so she grabbed it again and headed to checkout.

Gladys, her favorite cashier, was slowly moving through a customer's items at the express lane. Thora pulled in behind them and patiently waited her turn. When Gladys was done with the first customer, she turned to Thora with a smile and booked it through her order, scanning and bagging so quick Thora could barely see her hands.

"It's always good to see a friendly face on a day like this. My arches are killing me," Gladys smiled, accepting Thora's cash.

"Yeah, my ol' knee is acting up again. I hear it's going to rain tomorrow, but today is beautiful."

"The perfect way to start a school year," Gladys nodded, handing back Thora's change. "Your grandkids are lucky to have you."

Thora took her bags and carried them to the car, leaving the cart with a nice young gentleman inside. Once she got home, she put up the cold items and started baking with a smile, putting on some music and dancing as she baked. When she was done, she had two plates of cookies ready to go.

Arthur was surprised to see his grandmother's car in the driveway when he got home. He figured she'd be gone off doing whatever she does. He walked into the house and found two plates of cookies, both of them with only a few left. He picked up a chocolate chip one and looked around.

Thora appeared from the living room, "Welcome home, Arthur. How was your first day of school?"

"Pretty good," Arthur nodded. "I have algebra with Buster and Brain, but there were a lot of kids I didn't know too. Hopefully they're not too much smarter than me."

"Oh, you'll do fine," Thora said, moving to the refrigerator. Instead of grabbing for the milk like he expected, Thora went to the freezer, "I got you something special. I had to sneak it in so it might still be a little melty," she smiled, pulling out a soft-shell lunch box and handing it to him.

Inside was a small pint of ice cream. Arthur smiled and accepted a hug from his grandmother. She really knew how to make the first day of school so much better.

~End

Theme 71: Snack Time [theme from my updated Infinite Theme List. See my deviantArt profile for the full list]

One-Shot 7/100 for 2017

A/N: I just had to do something from Thora's POV. Hoped you liked it.


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